Rung anchor for ladders



Oct 1951 N. A. STROUD RUNG ANCHOR FOR LADDERS Filed Sept. 8, 1949 Nolan A. Stroud INVENTOR.

BY WWW 3 M145 i atentecl Oct. 9, 1951 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE V V 2,570,731) none. ANCHOR FORLADDERS was A. state, Amelie; Tex. Application September 8, i949, Serial No. 114,532

.T e... pre nt. inr itiq' ie a s we W and .meens.r ....rely wee i e. 1 tile which are expressly made for repair purposes, may be quickly bracketed and securely anchored in position between the customary vertical stiles of a ladder.

The invention is primarily concerned with cylindrical rounds which are used as rungs particularly in constructing heavy ladders which are employed by painters, carpenters and often used in erecting planks such as are employed in building scaffolds.

It is a matter of common knowledge that the ordinary or conventional painters ladder has the end portions of the rungs fitted into openings or sockets in the stiles with the opposite terminals of the rungs terminating flush with the outer surfaces of said stiles. Due to rainy weather, rough usage and various weather developments, these rungs become unduly worn, rot and have to be frequently replaced. The purpose of the present invention is to enable the owner of the ladder to saw out the damaged rung and replace it with a relatively short repair or substitute rung and to provide efficient brackets or fixtures for maintaining the repair rung between the stiles with requisite nicety and certainty.

More explicitly, novelty is predicated upon simple and economical substantially U-shaped brackets which provide stirrup-like attaching brackets and function to satisfactorily saddle and hold the repair rung amply and effectively in place.

Other objects and advantages will become more readily apparent from the following description and the accompanying illustrative drawings.

In the drawings, wherein like numerals are employed to designate like parts throughout the views:

Figure 1 is a fragmentary view, in section and elevation, showing a conventional ladder with regular rungs in place and with my improved rung and bracketing means included.

Figure 2 is a section on the line 2-2 of Figure 1 looking in the direction of the arrows.

Figure 3 is an enlarged plan view of the sheet metal blank which is used in forming the rung saddling and fixing bracket.

Referring now to the drawings by distinguishing reference numerals and to Figure 1, the customary ladder stiles or rails are denoted by the numerals 4 and 5 and the regular or conventional rounds or rungs'by the numerals 5. It is to be assumed that the elements 6 are the 2 uses. (oi. 225-58) rungs which are installed in the ladder at the time it was manufactured and that the end portions are sn'ugly fitted into sockets. or openings provided in the stiles, as is customary, and nailed or otherwise fixed to said stiles. Assuming that one of the rungs has rotted or broken midway between its ends and has to be repaired, the substituted or repair rung is employed. '.Lh1S repair rung, which is shorter than the regular rungs, is denoted by the numeral i and has its end portions 8 such that they are spaced closely from the stiles Q and 5. To adapt the stiles to serve the purpose the old or broken rung is simply sawed or cut out and the stub ends 99 are left in place. Then, the rung l is installed and lined up with the plugs or stubs 9 and secured by way of novel anchoring and saddling brackets. Each bracket is of general U -shaped form and is denoted by the numeral Ill. The bight portion is denoted at H and the lateral end portions or limbs by the numerals l2 and S3. The ends are laterally bent into attaching ears It and I5 which ears abut the coasting surface of the stile and are secured in place by headed fasteners such as screws or the like 16. The bight portion is provided with a central h-ole ll which serves to sturdily ,receive and saddle the rung-end in place. It also has an offset notch 18 which provides a keeper seat for the coacting end portion of the usual stay rod or reinforcing truss rod E9. The headed end of the rod is at 26 and the nut equipped'end H is provided with a nut 22.

In practice, and as before indicated, the worn or damaged rung is sawed out and the portion which is removed is supplanted by the substitute or repair rung l. The latter is such in length that when it is in place the ends actually come into contact with and abut against the inner surfaces of the stiles. However, this is not absolutely necessary and in fact a slight air space may prolong the life of the repair rung. In any event, the U-shaped hanger brackets are screwed or otherwise fastened in place in opposite positions and the saddling and supporting holes I! are lined up with the stubs 9 which are left in the stiles 4 and 5. The brackets may be put over the end portions of the repair rung first and then the rung may be fitted in place. Now, the brackets are pushed out or slid one at a time and screwed in place to facilitate speed of application. The brackets are sufiiciently open that they permit complete airing of the end portions of the rungs to prolong the life of same.

' It might be stated that the stay rods or trusses 3 [9 are not absolutely necessary but in a heavy duty ladder they are perhaps desirable.

Changes in shape, size, materials and rearrangement of details and parts may be resorted to in actual practice, so long as they do not depart from the spirit of the invention or the scope of the appended claims, as is well understood.

Having described the invention, What is claimed as new is:

1. In a ladder construction of the class described, a pair of opposed complemental spaced parallel stiles, a pair of opposed complemental U-shaped brackets having end portions secured to inner surfaces of said stiles, said brackets having their bight portions disposed in spaced parallelism with said inner surfaces and provided with rung-holes, a rung having its end portions seated and saddled in said rung holes with said end portions in close spaced proximity to adjacent inner surfaces of said stiles, and a 20 truss rod having .its .end portions. mounted in said stiles, said rod being in spaced parallelism in respect to said rung and having end portions piercing the bight portions of said brackets.

2. As a new article of manufacture, an anchoring bracket for a ladder repair rung comprising a substantially U-shaped strap member including a bight, lateral limbs and right angularly disposed outstanding terminal ends on said links, said bight having a centered opening therein providing a rung hole, and further having a radial notch in the marginal portion of the bight defining said hole, said notch forming a keeper seat for an end portion of said stay rod.

NOLAN A. STROUD.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS 

